California Real Estate Headline Roundup

Posts Tagged ‘fraud’

Today’s News Synopsis:

The federal government claims Deutsche Bank commited mortgage fraud, and is suing the bank. LPS said 500,000 borrowers became current on their loans in the first quarter. Michael Fratantoni of the MBA predicts a full housing recovery is 3 to 4 years away. The combined sales of all broker-run transactions fell $226 million year over year.

In The News:

“The federal government sued Deutsche Bank Tuesday, saying the bank committed fraud and padded its pockets with undeserved income as it repeatedly lied so it could benefit from a government program that insured mortgages.”

“Big banks eased lending standards and businesses sought more loans in the first quarter of the year, the Federal Reserve said. In its quarterly Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey released Monday, the Fed said the share of banks ‘that reported having become more willing to make consumer installment loans rose to its highest level since the first half of 1994.’”

“Lender Processing Services (LPS: 28.60 +0.03%) said 500,000 ailing mortgage borrowers either came current on their payments or lost their home to foreclosure in the first quarter, according to a recent mortgage monitor from the Florida-based data provider.”

“A full housing recovery is three to four years off as the nation grapples with a shadow housing inventory of 4.5 million distressed properties, according to Michael Fratantoni, vice president of research and economics for the Mortgage Bankers Association.”

“U.S. commercial property prices may fall within a year as building owners attempt to refinance $1 trillion in mortgages, according to Joseph Azrack, head of real estate for Apollo Global Management LLC.”

“The combined sales of all broker-run transactions fell by $226 million from the first quarter last year, when home sales generated a total of $3.35 billion – revenue divided between home sellers and their agents. During the first three months of this year, both sales and prices dropped from year-ago levels. The average price of an Orange County home sold through the MLS fell 2.8% in the first quarter to $540,856.”

Today’s News Synopsis:

The Commerce Department reports new home sales increased 11% in March. A study shows that short sales and foreclosures equally damage FICO scores. A survey from Pew shows 81% of adults believe purchasing a home is the best long-term investment a person can make. Morgan Stanley believes home prices will fall 6-11% this year.

In The News:

“Potential homeowners who participate in prepurchase education and counseling programs may be more likely to pay their mortgages on time, although the evidence on this point is not consistent and compelling, according to a study released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The study also finds that those who participate in default counseling are more likely to have their loans modified.”

“leading proponents of doing away with Fannie and Freddie aren’t predicting victory. As a precaution, they’re advancing eight bills taking bite-sized swipes at the issue. In the Democratic-led Senate, a sister measure by 2008 presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., faces long odds, and the Banking Committee’s top Democrat and Republican are wary of quickly reshaping the market for financing home purchases.”

“Home prices in February sank 3.3% to just above the post-crisis lows reached in April 2009. It was the seventh straight month of declines. Home values are down 32% from their peak set in May of 2006, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 cities.”

“The Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies released a report Tuesday, analyzing conditions in the housing market from 1999 to 2010. The study found the price to rent a home is trending inversely to renters’ annual income, just one of many factors hindering growth in the rental space.”

“Republicans and Democrats struck a late-hour deal in April on how to continue funding the U.S. government. But among the cuts, was $88 million used to fund nonprofit counseling groups approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.”

“The amount of monthly mortgages purchased for securitization by Freddie Mac fell nearly 31% in March to $26.9 billion. The government-sponsored enterprise reported its total mortgage portfolio decreased at an annualized rate of 4.7% during the month to $2.14 trillion.”

“New-home sales rose 11 percent last month from February to a seasonally adjusted rate of 300,000 homes, the Commerce Department said Monday. That follows three straight monthly declines. Still, the pace remains far below the 700,000 homes a year that economists view as healthy.”

“Mr. Bernanke and his supporters say that the purchases have improved economic conditions, all but erasing fears of deflation, a pattern of falling prices that can delay purchases and stall growth. Inflation, which is beneficial in moderation, has climbed closer to healthy levels since the Fed started buying bonds.”

“U.S. home prices will fall 6 percent to 11 percent this year, more than previously forecast, as mortgages become harder to obtain and distressed sales drive down values, according to Morgan Stanley. ”

“New-home sales, tabulated when contracts are signed, climbed 12 percent to a 280,000 annual pace last month, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 64 economists. Purchases slumped 17 percent in February to a 250,000 rate, the weakest in data going back to 1963.”

Looking Back:

One year ago, the CIRB reported that permits were pulled for 3,714 total California housing units in March. Commercial mortgage delinquencies fell to 0.63% in Q1 of 2010. The MARI saw a 50 percent increase in appraisal fraud in 2009. Homeownership rates in Q1 of 2010 decreased to the lowest levels since 2000.

Richard Ryan

This week Bruce is joined by Supervisory Special Agent Richard Ryan with the FBI. Ryan supervises a cadre of special agents and detectives from various law enforcement agencies throughout Southern California. Mr. Ryan oversees white collar crime in Los Angeles, which includes financial institution fraud, money laundering, and identity theft. During his career, he successfully worked major frauds, counter terrorism, gangs and criminal enterprises, and narcotics. In 2009, Ryan was deployed to Haiti for the search and rescue of U.S. citizens being held hostage for ransom.

Mortgage fraud is much more complex than a homeowner trying to get out from underneath their home, or someone looking to prey on another person’s equity.

There is a difference between fraud for ownership and fraud for profit. Mortgage and bank fraud involves profit. Homeownership or dehomeownership fraud often involves getting away from an underwater mortgage. Many people are trying to get away from their properties because of unemployment, having a bad loan, or having a fraudulently obtained loan. Many fraudulently obtained loans occurred while lenders were using no documentation loans.

Foreclosure rescue and loan modification schemes are a big problem right now. There are some companies honestly working with people to save their homes, but most of these companies are sponsored by the government. You should be cautious of foreclosure rescue companies that make you pay up front. Legitimate companies are more likely to bill you after they have completed their service.

Bruce heard a radio advertisement that said, “If you are trying to do a loan modification, without us assisting you in preparing your financial statement to look correct, you will probably not get your loan modification.” Ryan says that is completely false. That company is preying upon the emotions of people who are already desperate. They are pretending that their company is the only company that can help with loan modifications.

Many people are currently attempting to make their financial status look worse than it truly is to get a loan modification.

Fraudulently under-evaluating a property allows someone to flip it at a later point with a higher appraised value. This type of fraud involves a conspiracy of a homeowner and an appraiser. The appraiser gives an undervalued appraisal, and then encourages the bank to accept less than what it owed on the property. The property is then bought by the conspirators and sold for a price near market value.

There are many people who buy damaged properties with low values, fix them, and sell them at a higher value. The FBI encourages people to do this, because it is not manipulative, and not only does it provide a profit to the investor, but it helps raise the value of the entire neighborhood. There are perfectly legitimate reasons for buying a property at a low value and selling it at a higher one.

Sometimes there are conspirators in a short sale that are not going to receive any money. Occasionally, a homeowner will have a need to sell his home so he will personally ask a certain company to buy the property at a specific price. The conspiring homeowner will then have the opportunity to buy back the same property at a later date for a lower price. This is not considered a fair deal for the bank, and it is considered fraud.

Fraud occurs when skirting of reporting requirements occurs. Fraud occurs if you are not putting legitimate information on a loan application. It occurs if you are providing kick backs for a benefit to someone such as an appraiser or a notary.

Fraud evolves based on the conditions and environment of the day. We did not have short sales when people were making double digit profits every month in 2006. The banks were handing loans out prevalently. We are currently seeing a lot of foreclosures, short sales and vacancies. Ryan has also noticed a “squatting” trend developing in the world of fraud. Squatting is finding vacant properties, breaking into them, changing the locks, live in them without rent, and demanding the bank to give them $25,000 to leave.

Bruce says that owner occupants are not being punished when they allow their mortgage to become seriously delinquent and then destroy the property they are losing. Quite often, these people will dismantle things such as the cabinets, and decide that those cabinets should be theirs, even after they have lost the property. If someone is in bankruptcy and they strip the house for a profit they have committed fraud.

200 banks went into FDIC receivership last year. Many of these banks closed down because of their loan process. The FDIC is also a federal investigation agency that can detect loan fraud.

Insider fraud involves participants in the management of the bank who do perform certain actions to help themselves. Insider fraud can also involve a bank’s underwrite or loan processor.

The FBI has seen almost every kind of fraud. Bruce has people come to him with investment ideas, and their ideas sometimes involve fraud. Richard Ryan understands what a straw buyer is. There are some individuals who purchase homes but never make a payment. When the FBI interviews these people, the FBI discovers that these people had no idea that they were on title. They may have been told that they would receive $10,000 just to use their name to obtain a loan, and that their name would not be attached to the loan. Ryan has spoken to people who owned 30 properties without knowing it. These people are known as straw buyers.

Organized crime is very prevalent in mortgage fraud and bank fraud. Companies have purchased hundreds of homes underneath the names of the unknowing owners. Ryan met a person who owned his home outright, but had his home placed on the market without his knowledge, and had bids placed on the home. The real homeowner had no idea while the fraudulent homeowner was taking money from escrow and attempting to sell the house.

The FBI tries to conduct its investigations covertly. They do not want criminals to run and hide. The nice thing about mortgage fraud is that criminals cannot change their paper trail. You cannot unfile mortgage documents, and once those documents are filed there is a trail to follow.

The FBI has about 300 special agents dedicated to mortgage and bank fraud. Millions of schemes have been attempted, so the FBI is not well staffed to handle all these problems. However, if you do commit fraud, the FBI will come for you eventually.

There are currently around 3000 fraud investigations. California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona are the top places for mortgage fraud. The properties under investigation in California are typically much more valuable than the properties under investigation in Oklahoma.

Today’s News Synopsis:

Ed Haldeman said less than 4% of Freddie Mac’s single family loans are delinquent. The government dismissed two counts of wire fraud in the case against the former CEO of Taylor, Bean and Whitaker. Treasury Secretary Geithner warned that severe economic hardship could impact the United States when the nation reaches its debt limit.

In The News:

“Americans favor walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods, with 56 percent of respondents preferring smart growth neighborhoods over neighborhoods that require more driving between home, work and recreation.”

“SHORT sales are complicated transactions and account for a big part of the real-estate market. Now the California Association of Realtors hopes to bring some clarity to the process. The Los Angeles-based trade association has launched shortsalescalifornia.org, which will provide resources, news and tips about homes that are valued at less than what is owed.”

“One bill in particular introduced by Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) hits a hot button issue on whether or not Fannie and Freddie should be exempt from the risk-retention standards of a qualified residential mortgage. According to Garrett’s bill, H.R. 1223 or the GSE Credit Risk Equitable Treatment Act, GSE securities would not be exempt from the risk-retention requirements of Dodd-Frank.”

“Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner sent a letter to U.S. Sen. Harry Reid Monday warning the lawmaker that severe economic hardship could impact the United States when the nation reaches its debt limit on May 16.”

“MPF found Orange County’s effective rents for new tenants — the asking rates minus concessions — as of March rising 1.5 percent in a year — vs. 3.3 percent nationwide. From the fourth quarter, Orange County effective rent was up 0.8 percent vs. 1.1 percent nationwide.”

Today’s News Synopsis:

Pending home sales increased by 2.1%, according to the NAR. Interthinx claims California’s fraud risk decreased last year. A cash for keys program was recently proposed to Congress members, but has been strongly ridiculed. California had the largest gain in construction jobs in the nation during February.

In The News:

“The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator, rose 2.1 percent to 90.8, based on contracts signed in February, from 88.9 in January. The index is 8.2 percent below 98.9 recorded in February 2010.”

“California’s overall risk index value actually decreased to 180 points, from 222 in 2009. According to California-based Interthinx, this can be explained by a migration of fraudulent criminals to more vulnerable areas, such as Nevada, which saw its overall risk index value increase more than 30 points last years.”

“St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said policy makers should review whether to curtail a plan to buy $600 billion in Treasury securities, noting that the U.S. recovery may not need that much stimulus.”

“California had the largest construction gain in the nation in February — adding 15,500 jobs, or 2.7 percent, from January, says an Associated General Contractors of America analysis of state employment data from the U.S. Labor Department.”

“Californias’ incomes rose 2.5 percent in 2010, a year after the state’s first year-to-year decline in personal income since World War II, the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Wednesday. The bureau said 2010 income statewide was more than $1.6 trillion, up from 2009′s $1.56 trillion and a return to 2008 levels.”

“An ex-con turned fraud crusader accused of defaming homebuilder Lennar Corp. and its chief Orange County-based executive was accused in federal court Thursday of using his status as an FBI informant to get insider information used in his stock trades.”

“CoreLogic says the tool allows servicers to bypass manual loan modification calculations by submitting borrower profiles through IntelliMods, which is designed to determine a borrower’s loan modification eligibility.”

“Freddie Mac told servicers managing its loans this week that they can no longer foreclose in the name of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems.”

Looking Back:

One year ago, CBIA reported that 3,404 building permits were pulled in February. Governor Schwarzenegger is expected to sign the $10,000 home buyer tax credit bill soon. According to the Commerce Department, home sales fell 2.2 percent last month. UCLA does not expect to see a second dip in economic performance.

Today’s News Synopsis:

Capital One Home Loans has chosen not to foreclose on any California mortgages. The government applauded TALF for netting $600 million in income. According to S&P, lenders need 13 months on average to foreclose in a judicial state. Altos Research claims home prices decreased 2% in February.

In The News:

“Senior Obama administration officials, newly joined by state attorneys general, were on the brink Thursday of finalizing major elements of a possible settlement with large U.S. banks accused of flawed and fraudulent foreclosure practices, sources familiar with the discussions said.”

“Pending home sales nationwide are down for the second consecutive month, except for in the South where sales rose 1.4% between the months of December and January, according to a new report from Standard & Poor’s.”

“Home prices fell another 2% in February with declines in all 27 markets tracked by Altos Research. The company said prices are slowly improving and housing inventory is up 3.75% nationwide as the market moves into a much-anticipated spring selling season.”

“Overall payroll employment in February grew by 192,000, following a revised 63,000 rise in January and a 152,000 gain in December. The February advance came in marginally lower than the updated consensus forecast for a 200,000 gain”

Looking Back:

One year ago, Bruce Norris claimed the government’s aid would not be enough to prevent the U.S. economy from sliding back into recession. The NAR reported that national pending home sales decreased by 7.6 percent in January. Commercial real estate delinquencies decreased in February. The delinquency rate for Fannie Mae loans increased to 5.38% in February.

Today’s News Synopsis:

The Federal Reserve will require borrowers who get their mortgages through a broker to receive the lowest possible interest rate. LPS claims the national delinquency rate increased to 8.9% in January. A lawyer was held in contempt of court for helping his clients break back into their house after the foreclosure was ruled legitimate. RadarLogic said national home prices decreased 1.6% in December.

In The News:

“STARTING April 1, under a new compensation rule from the Federal Reserve, borrowers who get their mortgages through brokers will most likely pay less for their services and must be offered the lowest possible interest rate and fees for which they qualify.”

“The Ventura County Superior Court in California found attorney Michael T. Pines in contempt of court Wednesday for helping his clients Jim and Danielle Earl break back into their home after the foreclosure was ruled legitimate.”

“The national delinquency rate stood at 8.9% in January, up 0.8% from the month prior, but down 18.8% over the year-ago period, according to the ‘First Look’ report from Lender Processing Services (LPS: 33.37 +0.30%).”

“He said a New York bankruptcy judge already held that MERS cannot assign a mortgage, so Pennell explains, if they can’t make the assignment, they are not going to be able to legally assign the mortgage out of MERS and back to servicers as part of this recent change, he said.”

“Emile Haddad, a former Lennar Corp. executive, sold 12,000 acres in California for a $277 million profit at the housing market’s peak four years ago. He and his partners then reacquired it at half the price in 2009. Now, Haddad says, it’s time to build.”

Looking Back:

One year ago, Freddie Mac’s weekly survey showed that mortgage rates dropped this week. 4,853 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow within a month in the Bay Area. The U.S. Treasury claimed that its foreclosure prevention program had cut mortgage payments for approximately 947,000 homeowners. S&P estimated there were approximately 947,000 houses in shadow inventory, which would take nearly 3 years to sell.

Today’s News Synopsis:

Million dollar home sales in California increased by 21%, according to MDA DataQuick. Freddie Mac reports mortgage rates increased over 5% this week. The Treasury said half of all renters spend over 33% of their income on housing.

In The news:

“Last year 22,529 Golden State homes sold for $1 million or more. That was up 21.0 percent from 18,621 in 2009 and the highest since 2008, when 24,436 homes sold for $1 million-plus, according to San Diego-based DataQuick Information Systems. Million-dollar sales peaked in 2005 at 54,773, after which they declined each year through 2009.”

“The 32-page plan calls for phasing in an increase in the down payment requirement for loans guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie to 10%, while reducing the maximum size of mortgages they can back — a move that would affect Southern California and other high-cost areas.”

“Reducing conforming loan limits at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will help reduce the GSEs’ dominance in the mortgage market by driving jumbo mortgage financing back to the private sector for financing, the U.S. Treasury said in its ‘Reforming America’s Housing Finance Market’ report on Friday.”

“Half of all renters spend more than one-third of their income on housing, and 25% spend more than half of their income. For every 100 extremely low-income American families, 32 adequate rental homes are affordable for them, according to the Treasury white paper.”

Looking Back:

According to the NAR, home sales increased in 32 states from the 3rd quarter of 2009. Statistics from the CBIA show that the construction industry currently provides only one sixth of the jobs it provided in 2005. Some speculate that Fannie and Freddie’s purchasing of debt could get rid of all mortgage debt within a year. RealtyTrac reports that foreclosure filings increased by 15 percent from last year.

Today’s News Synopsis:

Statistics from MDA DataQuick show 7,178 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the Bay Area last month, and a total of 36,215 were sold statewide. The NAR reports existing home sales increased 12.3% in December. Fannie Mae announced a 45 day delay on foreclosures for borrowers receiving aid from the Hardest Hit Fund.

In The News:

“A total of 7,178 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county Bay Area last month. That was up 17.5 percent from 6,111 in November and down 8.3 percent from 7,828 in December 2009, according to San Diego-based DataQuick Information Systems.”

“An estimated 36,215 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That was up 15.3 percent from 31,403 in November, and down 13.4 percent from 41,837 for December 2009. California sales for the month of December have varied from a low of 25,585 in 2007 to a high of 66,503 in 2003, while the average is 44,338. DataQuick’s statistics go back to 1988.”

“Existing-home sales1, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 12.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million in December from an upwardly revised 4.70 million in November, but remain 2.9 percent below the 5.44 million pace in December 2009.”

“The average rate rose to 4.74 percent this week from 4.71 percent the previous week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The average rate on the 15-year loan, a popular refinance option, slipped to 4.05 percent from 4.08 percent.”

“Federal securities fraud class-action cases rose in the second half of 2010, according to a report prepared by the Stanford Law School in cooperation with Cornerstone Research. The report shows 104 class-action cases alleging federal securities fraud were filed in the second half of the year, up from 72 filings in the first six months of the year.”

“Purchases increased 4.1 percent from the prior month to a 4.87 million annual rate, according to the median forecast of 72 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Other reports may show a gauge of the economy’s direction grew for a sixth month, and manufacturing expanded in the Philadelphia region in January.”